Let the Sky Fall
by SiriousB1
Summary: Aragorn is stationed in Rohan and is having doubts about his loyalty to Arwen. Eowyn is there for him, but he knows that he cannot betray his lover. A sonfic to If You Still Believe from Legend of Dragoon, this story is about finding faith in yourself.


Disclaimer: I do not own any LotR characters, nor do I own the song "If you Still Believe" from the Legend of Dragoon game.

* * *

**Let the Sky Fall**

Despite the hundreds of miles between us, I can still feel your heart beating with a rhythm no mortal heart could ever match. I can imagine running my hands, these scarred hands, through your hair, black as night and ten times as breathtaking. These miles between us mean nothing; your breath still tickles my ear in teasing wonder.  
  
_I had a dream that I could fly,  
I can feel each moment as time goes by  
_  
If only your father, foolish and great, would permit me to caress you as a married man. I wouldn't have to worry about returning home to see nothing, for you would be there waiting for me with your arms open and inviting. I could run into your outstretched arms and hold you, knowing that you would never leave me. Does your father not realize this?  
  
I would protect you from all harm, and it would be more strength than he could muster because I wouldn't force you to hide from the world. You might want to fight next to me, sharing the glory and being there together should one of us fall. Your choice would be my hope, not my fear.  
  
_We'd never be too far away,  
You would always be here,  
I heard you say  
_  
But now I am far, far away from your arms, the only comfort being that I can still hear your voice ringing in my ears: you are saying that you chose me, not your father. Your necklace, your heart, still rests around my neck, giving me light and hope when there is none. You make this war seem already over, with all its soldiers ready to return home to friends and family.  
  
I just wish that it was so simple.  
  
_I never thought that it would,  
It would be our last goodbye.  
(Our last goodbye)  
_  
Sometimes my heart fails your hope and I wonder what would happen should I parish before I return to your soul warming eyes. Would you turn away and go on that boat with your father, never returning to what I call home? Or would you run, giving up all you had, to mourn and be alone? I can only hope that you would go with your kind; I know what loneliness is like, and it shows no mercy to lost lovers.  
  
_I still can dream that one day,  
Love will fall out from the sky  
_  
I can look out of the windows and onto the city of Rohan. Its people walk in misery, but are happy at the same time. Their king has returned to his old self, no longer misguided by the forces which we fight. As reassuring as this thought is, the people rush around with worried faces, knowing that an evacuation will steal all their strengths and hopes from them.  
  
There are those, however, who roam in a state of excitement and wonder. These are the people who shall fight for Rohan; these are the people who will give it all up for a final moment of glory and pain, and they will be remembered as fallen heroes of the war.  
  
_Do you still remember,  
All the time that has gone by?  
(Do you believe?)  
_  
And then there is the final group of people: those who long for glory in their final hour, but shall not receive it because they are told they cannot fight. Oh, my love, so far away, it is this group that makes my stomach clench and my heart stop. In this group there is but a single person: Eowyn, the king's niece and a shield maiden who lusts for a battle that will prove herself and her potential to her uncle.  
  
Yes, it is she that worries me most because she loves and fights for what she can never have: me.  
  
_Do you still believe that,  
Love can fall out from the sky?  
_  
Whenever I wander the halls of this place I can feel her eyes upon me, watching and waiting for a chance to tell me all that she hopes and fears. Damn her for her actions; they make me wonder if I shall be able to keep myself for you when I see you next.  
  
Why this doubt in me? Because I do not even know if I shall ever see you again. All I have is a fleeting hope.  
  
_If from where you're standing,  
You can see the sky above_  
  
And what a fragile hope it is! I spend each day either waiting to die or waiting to save the world. I am never sure of anything anymore, expect for this absurd hope! Part of me wants to leave all this and return to you, no matter what chaos would ensue in my absence. But my other half, that half in which only impulse flourishes, I want to walk into this shield maiden's dream and never look back.  
  
_I'll be waiting for you,  
If you still believe in love.  
(Do you believe?)  
_  
Today is the day we leave this city of Rohan. Men, women and children walk with only their necessary belongings, leaving behind all dreams of happiness, and adventure bravely into a nightmare. Legolas and Gimli, my companions in this horrible war, ride on steeds that will never betray them, just as mine will not betray me. Like you will never betray me.  
  
_Find a way to bring back yesterday,  
Find a way to love,  
I hope we stay  
_  
This girl Eowyn walks as I ride, striking up what conversation she can. A brave girl, but she relies on her dreams to get her everywhere. She needs more than that: she needs a man's strength and a soldier's heart. This girl will fight to her end, even when outnumbered, but she won't retreat when told. That is her flaw: if she wants to keep her people in a realm of love and peace, then she needs to learn when to fight and when to flee, not with trepidation in her heart, but wisdom.  
  
_When tomorrow becomes yesterday,  
Love will find a way  
_  
She can see your pendant around my neck as it protects me from her silly love. I can see her face contort as her heart is torn, realizing that I belong already to another. I almost feel her pain because I know what it is like to be denied the one thing that you love with all your heart and soul. But she will get over it; she is young and I am merely her first stab at what love is: pain and heartbreak.  
  
I can only touch my fingers to your shining memory close to my heart and pray that this aching denial shall end soon.  
  
_I'll be waiting for you,  
In my heart you are the one_  
  
I suppose heartbreak is much harder for a girl who has been denied everything she's ever wanted to do than for one who is missing only one thing in her life. Eowyn sulks around this parade of peasants and soldiers, weaving away between the wagons of clothes and food whenever I draw near. You, dear love, came to me when our love was forbidden, but she shies away from it, disbelieving and sure her heart will never heal.  
  
I want to grab her by the shoulders and shake her until she realizes that I don't enjoy seeing her in this foul state. Or maybe I should talk some sense into her uncle, who has neglected her wishes all her life. Maybe a fatherly love will heal her and she can be made to understand that life isn't a game; it isn't a dream.  
  
_If I cannot find you,  
I will look up to the sun.  
(Do you believe?)  
_  
After days of traveling, I can sense unrest among the people of Rohan. They know they are near their destination, the fortress of Helms Deep, but they also know that the closer they are to it, the further they walk into danger. Soldiers take turns scouting out the roads ahead, hardly daring to sleep for fear of letting evil in among their ranks. King Théoden, however, rides with a smile and tries to cheer up his people, not wanting them to doubt their safety or hope.  
  
Hope: It all returns to hope. Whether it is for love or victory or just seeing one's home again, all this hope flickers like a candle running down to its last bit of wick. The people see this wick and want it to grow, but they know that it shall soon end and snuff out all light, leaving them in a nightmarish dark.  
  
_(Do you believe)  
If from where you're standing,  
You can see the sky above  
_  
It is night and the stars are the flickering candles that these people carry like treasures in their hearts. When the sun rises, they can blow out these candles and use the giant star to guide them and save the last bit of string in the wax. But night makes these strings run low and they know it can die with a single gust of cold, bone-chilling wing.  
  
_I'll be waiting for you,  
If you still believe in love  
_  
Daybreak. The candles are snuffed and sighs of relief can be heard during a quick breakfast. They know safety is not the feeling to hold yet, but they know they'll be able to see danger coming should it strike, and that makes all the difference.  
  
So why is there so much panic when a shouting voice rings from up ahead?  
  
_Do you believe?  
Do you believe?  
_  
Théoden orders Eowyn to lead the women and children the rest of the short way to the fortress, once again denying her the chance to fight. But she obeys and rushes to save her people. Legolas returns from his post and reports the coming of our enemies. I see them now as they spill down over the hill like all the soldiers' candles being turned upside down, letting melted wax pour and the flame eat the remaining wick without a second thought.  
  
These orcs fight with no fear, for they have nothing to live for. I can slice my blade through dozens of them before the fear of my own mortality enters my mind. You sit alone even farther away than before and I shudder to think that doubt of my loyalty ever crossed my mind. It is as I fight for these people who I don't know, as I fight for me, and as I fight for you that I realize what a fool I have been.  
  
_Do you still remember,  
All the time that has gone by?_  
  
Never will my impulsive half lust to touch Eowyn or any other; it will only lust for the blood of my enemies. And no longer will my love struck half desert these people to return to you; it is when I fight that your true protection can be granted. It is in battle that you shall know I'll return. I won't die before seeing you again.  
  
That is the last thought in my mind as I tumble over the cliff's edge.  
  
_Do you still believe that,  
Love can fall out from the sky?_  
  
The water runs with my blood so much that I can on longer tell what came from my body and what came from the other dead that float in this river. Is that what I am? Dead? No, I can't be! I have not yet kissed your hand upon which a ring has not yet been placed! I have not yet told you my story of dreams and hope and choices. I cannot be dead for I have yet to tell you the tale of a silly young girl who cannot yet see the truth about love or how the world is really played out to be.  
  
I cannot die!  
  
_If from where you're standing,  
You can see the sky above.  
(Do you believe?)  
_  
Damn my mistakes! I can feel my wounds begin to take over my body and weariness overcomes me. All I want to do is sink in this water and lay in its bed and dream about what things could have been like if I had survived. But I won't because I can see a sparkling light through this blue-black dungeon. Just a little kick and I will be able to see for the first time what all the people look to when they blow out their candles at sunrise.  
  
And as I surface and drag myself out of my prison, I see raven black hair and I can feel the ground pulse with a rhythm that has never been duplicated.  
  
_I'll be waiting for you,  
If you still believe in love  
_  
The sun the people see is no the sun at all: it is what they keep walking for without breaking a sweat. Perhaps Eowyn sees her uncles as he finally awakens to reality, and maybe you see your father welcoming you to your dreams. But I see you in all your beauty and I see your smile brighten the land and warm my soul just as the sun does after a long night of misery and pain.  
  
Your image fills the sky and only one thought enters my mind: fight for her and everything she means to me. So I lift myself onto my horse, who did not betray me by leaving my side, and I ride off to the war where I will fight for you, who didn't betray my heart.  
  
That's the love worth fighting for. That is the love that will keep me going when my candle flickers out. If you are the sun, then let the sky fall over my face and down my neck to my body, and let its warmth penetrate my flesh and bone and sink into my soul. Fall, sky, so that I may fight and win for all that I love and believe in.  
  
_Do you believe?  
_  
Finis


End file.
